We sent some questions over to Bowling For Soup ahead of the release of their new album and their upcoming UK tour. Here’s what Jaret had to say…
PT: Hi Guys, who am I speaking to?
Jaret: This is Jaret…Rock singer for BFS…and all around swell guy, if I do say so myself!
PT: Where in the world are you today and what have you been up to?
Jaret: I am home, in Dallas, TX…It’s been crazy around here, getting ready for the UK tour and the new album release…Also spending time with the wife and kids before I head out for a few weeks to rock balls!
PT: What does the average day for Bowling For Soup involve?
Jaret: At home, it is really normal…Just everyday family shit with the band stuff mixed in…On tour, it varies…And the US and UK are completely different…We stay up really late, so we sleep late when we can…In the US, we usually have to get up and do radio visits, so sleep comes in spurts…But an average day with no radio would go like this…Wake up, find a place to poop, stare at the wall to wake up, decide on lunch and whether a shower is possible for the day, stare at the wall to wake up again, make fun of your friends, call home, answer email, soundcheck, start drinking, press, watch openers, drink a lot more, play a show, drink more and video tape it, pass out…
PT: Now your new album ‘Sorry For Partyin’ is out in the UK now. It’s been three years since your last album. What’s taken you so long? Have you been partying too hard?
Jaret: Haha..Not exactly…Honestly, when we finished the tour with Bloodhound Gang in Oct 2007, we were fairly wiped out. We had never taken a break as a band, so the idea was to take a year off…During that year we came to the UK for festivals and toured China, Japan and Australia, and did sporadic shows in the US….But we all also did our own thing, while planning for the new album….I started writing way before we even rehearsed the first time…It was SO nice to come back together after a break…Now we are 15 years old as a band and this is album 10…Insane, right? Fuck…We are old!
PT: What makes a good party in your eyes?
Jaret: Beer and nudity…Friends slapping the shit out of each other or jumping off stuff!
PT: For your new album I heard you recorded enough material for a double album. Why didn’t you end up doing this? And what’s happened to all the extra material that didn’t make it onto ‘Sorry For Partyin’’?
Jaret: I wrote about 60 songs and we recorded 25. The double album is complicated on this level, because labels fight it…because essentially they are giving away the second half of the record……Even critics say we put too many songs on our albums (this is the only thing they teach you to say in Critic class “This album would have been better at 11 songs instead of 13″…such bullshit….fans should send critics that use this line hate mail for trying to get them jipped!)….This day and age, there are SO many outlets for extra songs! bonus tracks for Japan, UK, certain stores…Plus we can give away a track here and there for street teamers and such…It is cool to be able to get so many songs out there to the fans…
PT: Which songs on the record are you proudest of/happiest with and why?
Jaret: Man…I am so happy with this album…To me , it is by far our best…I really believe that even the hard core fans that still think of “Drunk Enough To Dance” as their favorite will change their mind….That said, I Love “I Don’t Wish You Were Dead Anymore”…It is such a happy song, but yet kinda dark and sad at the same time…I guess that is kinda my niche at times lyrically, but musically the “fun” vibe makes the song a mutha fucka! I like “If Only”…We have all been there! “A Really Cool Dance Song” has been my favorite since it was written over sushi! Man…I like em all!
PT: You’ve got a few special guest vocals on the new album as well, from the likes of Perry Gripp and Scott Reynolds. How did they all come about?
Jaret: Parry has been a friend for a while…We are big fans! He and I actually wrote a couple of UK extras a few albums ago “Somebody Get My Mom” was one of them…I forget the other….but it was a good one….He actually came to visit the studio in Austin TX just to hang out, but we HAD to put him to work! Scott Reynolds was a long time singer for the band ALL…In passing, we were talking about him in the studio, and the asst engineer pulled me aside and said “you know he lives right down the street right”…ha…I said “no”…The next day he slipped me his number and I just called him! He was quiet on the phone and came by the studio the next day just to hang….The funny thing is, I was like “you wanna sing on our album?” but I had no idea where I would put him…I had to tell Erik “hey man, I am giving him your parts on ‘America (Wake up Amy)’”…Erik said “if I am giving up parts, at least it is to Scott Fucking Reynolds!!!”…. It was so surreal to have Scott in the studio and produce him on one of my songs…I have been a fan for so long and his voice is embedded in my head! It was amazing…His daughter is a fan and LOVES Phineas And Ferb, so he was equally as stoked!
PT: Over on your website you’ve got a couple of pre-sale packages for the new album, including one costing $1000 where you’ll write and record a song with the buyer’s name in it. Please tell me someone’s taken you up on this offer…
Jaret: Dude! We have sold like 5 of those things! I have some work to do!!!
PT: You’ve filmed a pretty ridiculous video for ‘My Wena’. Are there any TV stations anywhere in the world that will actually air a music video featuring a girl in a giant penis body suit?
Jaret: There are some in England!!! Ha…We never really expected it to get on the air…The internet is such a tool (No pun intended) now….But it is cool that so many people watched it!
PT: You guys always have fun with your music videos – how involved are you in the process of making them? Do you come up with the story lines yourselves?
Jaret: Yes… I am very involved in everything BFS… The videos are no exception….They are usually the idea or combination of ideas from the band, and then we just run with it…We have been lucky to have such great directors with amazing vision in the past!
PT: So, who’s got the biggest ‘wena’ in Bowling For Soup?
Jaret: Gary… His is above average and the rest of us are just happy to have penises that work!
PT: You’re back over in the UK in October. What’s you favourite thing about touring in the UK?
Jaret: The crowds are amazing! And the chicks have amazing accents!
PT: And your least favourite?
Jaret: Cold and wet…and it is hard to find things at times….even simple things….In the US, everything is available 24/7….food, tape, pillows…whatever….We have to adjust for the UK…but we don’t mind…
PT: You’re bringing Zebrahead, MC Lars and the Leftovers with you as well. You guys always bring rad tour support with you when you play over here – how important is it for you to tour with bands you get along with/are fans of?
Jaret: Very! For us, it is all about the WHOLE night, and not just ourselves! We are fans too, so we wanna watch the show and be as stoked as the rest of the audience…I have high hopes for this one! It is gonna be good!
PT: Are there any bands you’ve toured with that have left you thinking ‘those guys are dicks’?
Jaret: Haha…Well….I am not usually one to point fingers, but we toured with Jesse James several years ago, and there WAS a certain member of that band that didn’t get along with ANYONE on the entire tour…..even his own band…I will let you decide whom I am talking about….
PT: What would be your perfect tour line-up? If you could pick any five bands living or dead to tour with, who would they be?
Jaret: Green Day, Foo Fighters, Slipknot, Motley Crue, Rancid (I woulda picked the Beatles, but you can’t hear them over the screaming!!!)
PT: And what would be on your perfect tour rider?
Jaret: Our tour rider is perfect as is….Lots of beer and vodka and stuff to make sandwiches!
PT: What can someone thinking about buying a ticket for the October tour expect from a Bowling For Soup show? What would you say to persuade them it’s the right thing to do?
Jaret: Dude…Our tours have always been amazing in the UK, but this one is going to the next level! I swear to you, it will be the best show you see all year (except Green Day, because we can’t afford explosives!)…. Seriously, you don’t wanna miss this one!
PT: Thanks for your time, guys. Anything you’d like to add?
Jaret: Thank you!!!
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